Providence | The Creative Capital

Tucked away in an unlikely location – off a nondescript hallway of a building in downtown Providence – lurks Animal, a boutique motion picture design studio producing high quality digital media content. Founded five years ago by Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) graduate Joshua Backer, Animal makes short films that help organizations achieve their strategic goals in such areas as development and recruitment, institutional/product awareness as well as documentary, competition entry and entertainment films.

What sets Animal apart is a high level of artistry coupled with technical expertise. The company is design-driven, and also makes serious investments in new technology to ensure the highest quality, cutting-edge work. The film-makers also pride themselves in the level of personal attention they give to each client, more they say than is usual at traditional, larger video production houses. Their client list reads like Who’s Who within the fields of architecture, higher education, business, arts and culture and have included acclaimed architect Daniel Libeskind, RISD, Brown University, Hasbro, and FirstWorks. Animal’s work has also garnered international attention serving clients in France, Lithuania, Senegal, and South Korea.

Founder/Creative Director Backer and Michael Morgan, Animal’s Head of Production, say they choose to be in Providence because of its rich and vibrant artistic community, its many versatile entrepreneurs who embrace creative challenges, and the great resources of expertise and talent that RISD and Brown and Providence’s other academic institutions provide. They also cite Providence’s intimate scale – they both walk or ride bicycles to work – its affordability and accessibility, and most of all its authenticity and lack of pretention – qualities they feel are reflected by their film design business.